James Comey Finds Himself With Some Free Time, Goes to See a Musical

James Comey hasn’t had a great week, but at least he’s spending his newfound down time in a productive way. On Saturday, the former F.B.I. director and his wife Patrice were spotted at a production of Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home in Washington, D.C. It’s one of his few public appearances since his messy and high-profile dismissal on Tuesday.

Comey and his wife posed with the multigenerational cast of the musical after they attended a matinee performance at the National Theater.

Fun Home is based on the graphic novel of the same name written and illustrated by Alison Bechdel. The story is autobiographical, and follows Bechdel’s childhood growing up under the tyrannical rule of her closeted homosexual father and coping with his suicide, while also coming to terms with her own homosexuality. The book and the show deal with themes of gender roles, sexual orientation, depression, and dysfunctional family life. The musical won the Tony Award for Best New Musical in 2015.

One of the show’s producers, Barbara Whitman, told The New York Times that the Comeys had bought tickets for the show months ago on a recommendation from their daughter.

“Their daughter saw the tour in Chicago and told them they had to see it,” Whitman said. “They were wiping away the tears as they came backstage to meet the cast. He said something to the effect of it was the best thing they could have picked for their first outing.

“It’s awfully moving,” Whitman continued, “but I would imagine doubly so at the end of a week like this. I was a little tongue-tied, and as they were leaving, I said, ‘Get home safe,’ as if I were his mom, and also as if he doesn’t know every F.B.I. agent in the country.”

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